National News

D-day is looming on Eels offer: Gutherson

15 May 2019

Parramatta captain Clint Gutherson is promising to end his long-running NRL contract saga any day now.

Gutherson dismissed reports the Eels had placed a deadline on their skipper to commit to a three-year deal worth $650,000 a season by Friday, but admitted he was desperate himself to make a decision, one way or another.

"I want to get it done. I'm sick of hearing about it," Gutherson said on Wednesday.

"I want to get it done sooner rather than later, so I'll put my own deadline on it - end of this week or early next week."

Gutherson is understood to have been holding out for months for a four-year offer of $700,000 a season.

But in an indication the 24-year-old is prepared to meet the Eels halfway, Gutherson said securing a longer contract was more important than getting what he believes he's worth as one of the NRL's premier fullbacks.

"It was never about the money. There's been a lot of figures out there that aren't true," he said.

"I'm at that age; I want a bit of security. I want to settle down and try and set my life up and play some good footy and know where I'm going to be playing footy.

"That's what it comes down to and now. There's a lot more people out there worse off than me.

"I just want to make a decision and move on."

Linked to a return to Manly, where he began his NRL career before moving to Parramatta in 2016, Gutherson conceded the Eels' two-year contract extension for coach Brad Arthur on Tuesday would have a major bearing on his decision to stay or go.

"It's a good time for the club," Gutherson said.

'I've said from the start, he's been a massive influence on my career and it's good to see him get two more years and it will be (a factor)."